BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Amanda Brady was diagnosed with epilepsy at 10 months old.
“She had started having a few more seizures. We were going through a phase where she was having them a little more frequently,” said Holly Brady, Amanda's mother and president/founder of the Purple Peace Foundation.
At age 13, Amanda had a seizure while taking a nap on the couch. Her mother Holly says it was unlike any other.
“So we got her transported to the hospital, but she had a lot of brain damage from that and wasn’t able to survive and ended up passing away within the next couple of days,” Holly Brady said.
After Amanda's death, her family devoted their energy to healing and helping others living with epilepsy. Holly and her husband Mark decided to hold an event called Bowl for Purple Peace, which led to even greater ambitions.
“So many people contacted us during that time, and we had such a big turnout for that first bowling event, that we knew we wanted to continue this,” Holly Brady said.
This year marks a decade since Holly and Mark started the Purple Peace Foundation.
Saturday the couple helped open the doors to the Purple Peace Foundation's newest facility. The new space allows the organization to continue raising awareness and education while supporting people living with epilepsy, like Stacey Perry.
“I’ve had epilepsy since I was 4 years old. I am 47 and I have four different types of seizures,” said Perry, Purple Peace Foundation community outreach coordinator.
Perry says living with epilepsy is far from easy. She lives with an implant near her left shoulder that connects to her brain to help control her seizures.
“I have what's called a VNS implant ... it’s basically a pacemaker for the brain,” Perry said.
Holly Brady and Stacey believe this new facility will make dark days brighter for those in the KC community living with epilepsy.
“Let’s just do a teens night, a Saturday afternoon, a fun thing for teens or little kids can have a party day or moms that just need a break while their kids are at school,” Brady said. “We are available, we can invite speakers to come in and talk, whether it’s IEPs or different types of treatments or medications or just whatever is the latest trend.”
Now with a place to call home, the Purple Peace Foundation can continue to support its tight-knit community in honor of Amanda.
“When Amanda was in the hospital for those three days, we prayed and prayed for a miracle,” Holly Brady said. “We maybe didn’t get the miracle that we asked for, but we got a different miracle.”
